Monitoring exercise surface system

Abstract

A yoga under-mat to be positioned under an exercise mat, to make the exercise mat a smart mat. The yoga under-mat including a plurality of sensors to monitor a user's health data, while the user is performing exercises, and to provide data to the user.

We claim: 
     
       1. A monitoring system comprising:
 an under-mat for placement under an exercise mat, the under-mat including a plurality of sensors arranged in a pattern, the pattern for the sensors comprises a first line sensors and a second line sensor arranged in an X configuration, and data from the plurality of sensors is used to identify a stance of a user on the exercise mat, and monitor the user's vital signs; and 
 a computer coupled to the under-mat to provide user feedback. 
 
     
     
       2. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the under-mat utilizes an inertial sensor. 
     
     
       3. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the user's stance is determined based on a position of each body part on the under-mat and weight distribution between the body parts. 
     
     
       4. The monitoring system of  claim 3 , wherein the under-mat detects when the user is partially off the under-mat. 
     
     
       5. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the identification of the stance of the user occurs on a remote server. 
     
     
       6. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the identification of the stance of the user occurs on the computer coupled to the under-mat, wherein the computer comprises a mobile device. 
     
     
       7. The monitoring system of  claim 6 , wherein the computer is coupled to the under-mat via a wireless connection, and wherein the mobile device is coupled to a remote server via a network. 
     
     
       8. The monitoring system of  claim 7 , wherein the wireless connection comprises a Bluetooth connection. 
     
     
       9. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 class logic to enable teaching of a remote class, where data from the under-mat is used to ensure that the user's form matches the class. 
 
     
     
       10. A method of providing an exercise tracker utilizing a yoga under-mat placed below an exercise mat, the method comprising:
 receiving data from a plurality of sensors embedded in the yoga under-mat; 
 determining a user's movements during an exercise session utilizing the data from the plurality of sensors; 
 detecting a user's heart rate and respiration rate during the exercise session utilizing the data from the plurality of sensors; 
 utilizing a special-purpose processor to calculate the user's stances during the exercise session based on the data from the plurality of sensors; and 
 instructing the user to correct the user's stances. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of sensors are arranged in a pattern, and the pattern comprises a first line sensors and a second line sensor arranged in an X configuration. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 10 , wherein one or more of the plurality of sensors are in the under-mat. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more of the sensors in the under-mat include an inertial sensor. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 determining the user's stance based on a position of each body part on the under-mat and weight distribution between the body parts. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 detecting when the user is partially off the under-mat. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the special-purpose processor is coupled to the plurality of sensors via a wireless connection. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 enabling teaching of a remote class, where the data from under-mat is used to determine whether the user's stance is correct. 
 
     
     
       18. An exercise monitoring system comprising:
 an under-mat for placement under an exercise mat, the under-mat including a plurality of sensors arranged in a pattern, the plurality of sensors collecting sensor data when the under-mat is in use; 
 a connection to receive the sensor data from the plurality of sensors, the connection to send data to a remote server; 
 a processor in the remote server configured to use data from the plurality of sensors to determine a user's stance based on a position of each body part on the under-mat and weight distribution between the body parts; 
 the processor configured to further use the data to determine the user's vital signs; and 
 a user interface configured to provide feedback to the user based on the determination. 
 
     
     
       19. The exercise monitoring system of  claim 18 , wherein the plurality of sensors comprise a first line sensors and a second line sensor arranged in an X configuration. 
     
     
       20. The exercise monitoring system of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 a heart rate logic to detecting a user's heart rate and respiration rate when the under-mat is in use utilizing the data from the plurality of sensors.